494 DOI: 10.1309/W75NTE5QBC9DXE03 © American Society for Clinical Pathology Basic Science / ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUE AND VALVE STENOSIS Biologic Features (Inflammation and Neoangiogenesis)

A b s t r a c t Neoangiogenesis and inflammation have a pivotal role in atherosclerosis. Observations support the hypothesis that calcified aortic valve stenosis is an inflammatory process, similar to atherosclerosis in tissue features and risk factors. We studied 2 groups of cases: 47 were affected by hemodynamic atherosclerotic carotid plaque (group 1) and 35 by severe calcified aortic valve stenosis (group 2). We compared the groups for atherosclerosis risk factors, morphologic features, and immunohistochemical phenotypes. In both groups, men, smokers, and hypertensive subjects prevailed, and histologic analysis showed an elevated score for T-lymphocyte infiltrates